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The selection of leggie Adil Rashid in England’s 13-member squad for the Birmingham Test has stunned the English cricket fraternity. Until last month, Rashid was nowhere in the frame of scheme of the selectors for the red-ball stuff. The 30-year old Yorkshire tweaker, who is a regular member of England’s limited-overs' squads, so far represented the country in 10 Tests and taken 38 scalps, but his last appearance was back in 2016 in Chennai.
Rashid has not played a single First-Class game this season. In fact, back in February, the wrist-spinner informed his county that he wanted to sign a white-ball contract in order to focus on his limited-overs' career. That time, it was widely assumed his that his Test career, as well as aspirations, are all but over.
But after a month later, here we are, Rashid is in the England squad for their historic 1000th Test match, courtesy to his 23-wicket home summer in limited-overs matches against Australia and India.
Meanwhile, ex-England captains Michael Vaughan, who is a very prominent voice in England cricket, has severely criticised this move. He opined this selection can discourage the young spinners who are playing in the County Championship.
“So we have picked someone who cannot be arsed with 4 day cricket for the Test Team ... Forget whether he is good enough or not I find this decision ridiculous ... !!!” (sic), Vaughan wrote on Twitter.
However, England selector Ed Smith has clarified in his statement that Rashid’s selection is not a one-time move.
"Before the selection meeting, Adil had confirmed his availability to play Test cricket for England for whole of this summer and the upcoming winter tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies," Smith said. "Adil fully understands that if he wishes to be eligible for Test cricket in the 2019 season, he must have a county contract to play four-day cricket. Moving forward, England Test players must be committed to the county championship."
"Clearly, the one-off circumstances around Adil's return to the Test squad are unusual. However, the selection panel was unanimous in believing that Adil should be selected in England's squad,” he added.
Nevertheless, the selection of Rashid along with England’s first-choice Test spinner Moeen Ali brings an interesting prospect in the game.
Is spin going to be a crucial factor in the Test series?
Well, if the latest reports are to be believed, it will definitely be.
With the heatwave currently gripping the United Kingdom, the pitches in the upcoming five-match Test series against India are expected to have something for the spinners. The visitors already have three quality spin options in their ranks. Hence, England too decided to recall Rashid, who according to the selectors is the best wrist-spinner in the country in white-ball formats.
In England, this is one of the rarest occasions when a player has secured a Test call-up despite his apathy towards First-Class cricket. Perhaps, the ball Rashid bowled to get Virat Kohli bowled at Leeds, earned him a place in Joe Root’s team.
Furthermore, this selection shows how desperate England are to make a strong statement in this series against the No. 1 ranked Test team in the world. A 0-4 in Ashes thrashing in Australia, followed by a drawn home series against Pakistan has hurt Root and Co.’s reputation as Test unit. Now, against India, they do not want to keep any stone unturned to finish on the right side. They want to keep every base covered.
Hence, in came Rashid.
As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.
